The Schaferhunde News

You’re Invited!!

We will be discussing “Stewarding” for the July Obedience Trials. Get involved and learn to be a ring STEWARD.

The Board meeting will convene at 6:00 p.m. prior to the General meeting. All members are welcome to attend.

Thanks Again to…………

Ray and Betty Laughlin for providing dinner at the April general meeting. Everyone enjoyed the hot dogs and brats and sweet treats.

Why is German Shepherd suddenly peeing in the house???

Submitted by Marion Baker

Our German shepherd, Marco is 5 years old now and totally housebroken. He recently started peeing in the house. We chalked it up to a tantrum due to the addition of another grandchild in the family and the lack of attention and exercise.

We prohibited Marco from having the run of the house. He was secured in his kennel in our absence and no longer had the freedom to stay inside unattended. We reduced the amount of water he was drinking and took his water away from him at night.

Recently, due to an unexpected trip out of town we kenneled Marco at our Veterinary clinic. In passing I asked about his recent urge to urinate in the house. They said they would check him out. The vet called us while we were on our trip stating that Marco had a urinary tract infection and wanted permission to start him on an antibiotic. Wefelt horrible knowing that we had punished him for something out of his control.

What we learned is that dogs don’t start urinating in the house out of spite. Many GSDs suffer from urinary infections and start to urinate often and cannot control their bladder. When the bacteria from the urinary opening enter the bladder, it can cause abnormal urination. A UTI in a dog can be life threatening.

Best practice is if something is out of the ordinary see the Vet.

CONGRATULATIONS

Tiffany Bartley is proud to announce that Aneles received her AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Certificate.

Cole and Jeff

Cole owned by Carmi Swift was awarded his AKC Caine Good Citizen certificate.

Club Sponsored –Upcoming EVENT

The Annual Specialty Show hosted by the GSDCGKC will be held on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11 at Smith’s Fork Park, Smithville, Missouri.

Lunch will be offered on Saturday afternoon for a good will donation.

Dinner hosted by the club on Saturday evening will include fried chicken, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, salad, dinner roll, and dessert.

The KCMO Police Department Canine team will be putting on a demonstration following dinner. Each year our club sponsors the “Wine Pull” fundraising event to assist the officers with canine training expenses.

Come out enjoy the show and cheer on our canine friends. Bring a pop-up tent and chairs to comfortably watch in the shade.

Volunteers Needed for the Specialty Show

· Setup and Tear down

· Provide a breakfast item for early volunteers

· Lunch set up and serving

· Dinner set up and serving

· Contribute a dessert for dinner

· Donate Soft drinks

To volunteer or donate an item, please contact Amy Edwards, Show Chairman (mrsaimers@gmail.com)

Obeidence

Begleithunde (ger) (BH) versus AKC Novice

Submitted by Debbie McHenry

Obedience BH: Part A

Heeling on lead (15points)

Begleithunde (BH) is a prerequisite for Schutzhund consisting of an obedience test and a traffic/temperament test. At the beginning of each trial section, the handlers must report in to the judge in a sportsmanlike manner. The handler enters the field with his dog on lead and the dog sits straight, on the left side and next to the handler, with his right shoulder blade at knee height. Taking of this position is allowed only once per exercise. From this position, at the Judges signal, comes the building up of all the obedience exercises. The handler must show a minimum of 10 paces before the performance of the exercises. Dog and handler will walk approximately 40 paces without stopping. The dog is to stay at the left side of the handler with his shoulder blade even with the handler’s leg. After traveling about 50 paces, the handler will make an about turn. After 10-15 paces at normal speed, the handler will then show the exercise at a run for 10 -15 paces, a slow for 10-15 paces then back to normal. After showing the changes of pace the team will demonstrate a right turn, a left turn, and an about turn with a minimum of 10 paces between. Then they will move into a group stopping at least once in the middle and showing a left and right turn in the group also.

Total of 60 points, dog/handler teams must have 70% of the total points to go on to Part B.

Obedience BH: Part B Traffic Test

Controllability and behavior in street traffic

1. On the judges signal, the handler proceeds with his dog on lead on the footpath of a section of indicated street. The judge follows the handler at a measured distance. The dog should remain at about knee level. The dog should behave impartially towards all pedestrians, and towards the motoring traffic. A short time later the handler is overtaken by a bicyclist. He will ring his bell several times. After this the handler goes to greet the judge to shake hands and converse with him. The dog must remain quiet.

difficult traffic condition

2. On the judges signal the handler will move in to heavier pedestrian traffic. The handler will stop twice in this traffic. The first time commands sit, the second time commands down. The dog must down quickly and quietly. The dog must follow his handler attentively and quietly, and willingly. And be uninfluenced by the heavy pedestrian traffic and the unaccustomed noises.

3. Handler walks a short distance and ties dog to a fence, ring in wall, etc. Handler then goes out of sight for 2 minutes. Dog may stand, sit or lie down. A passerby will pass with another leashed dog about 5 paces away from the one tied. Dog should allow this with no aggressive tendencies.

AKC Novice Obedience

Novice Exercises and Scores. The exercises and maximum scores in the Novice classes:

1. Heel on Leash and Figure Eight 40 points

2. Stand for Examination 30 points

3. Heel Free 40 points

4. Recall 30 points

5. Long Sit 30 points

6. Long Down 30 points

Maximum Total Score: 200 points

Dog/handler teams must earn a minimum of 50% of every exercise and a minimum of 170 points total to pass. Dog must pass three times under at least two different judges to earn their Companion Dog title.

After competing in the BH two weeks ago and having completed several Companion Dog titles, I must say that the difference between the two venues is significant. First of all, for the BH the handler must take a written test to prove that he/she knows the rules! I think this is a wonderful idea, as several times I have heard handlers in the AKC ring complain that they didn’t know something was in the rules. While AKC requires a very prescribed behavior with specific turns and halts called by the judge, the BH pattern must be memorized by the handler and performed without any prompts from the judge.

Each venue has demands placed upon the dog to maintain focus and show a significant amount of self-control. The “down under distraction” in the BH is truly a test of a young dog’s control as it is an “honor down”. This pattern used to have a gunshot too, but it was eliminated during the last rule change. The BH is an entry level temperament and obedience test of the dog’s readiness to go on in its training for IPO work. It is performed outdoors on a large field with spectators along the side of the field, but no ring gating or rope surrounds the area. AKC Novice is performed indoors or outdoors, but it is in a gated/roped off ring. There could be other dogs and people standing around the outside of the ring, causing distractions.

Group stays have long been discussed in the AKC venue and Novice stays are now done with the lead attached to the dogs with handlers across the ring. There can be as many as nine dogs together in the ring doing the one minute sit stay, followed by the three minute down. The BH has a long down with the handler 30 yards/meters away and can last as long as 10-12 minutes depending on how long the “working” dog takes to get through his pattern.

I enjoyed the challenge of the BH and would encourage everyone to go find out for yourself if this is a venue that would suit you and your GSD!

Training Workshop

It is not too late to sign-up for classes being offered by the club. Classes start on May 10th and end on June 14th.

There is a 12 dog limit for classes. Individual classes will be $15/session if available. Registration can be completed on-line at gsdcgkc.com under ABOUT US, TRAINING WORKSHOPS. Payment can be made at the first class attended.